Planned: Houston, TX – DeLuxe Theater

Fifth Ward’s DeLuxe Theater Gets Ready For Its Close-Up

By Craig Malisow, Thursday, Apr. 29 2010 @ 11:01AM

​City Council on Wednesday approved a contract with Smith & Company Architects for the renovation of the Fifth Ward’s historic DeLuxe Theater. No opening date has been announced for the 59-year old building, which has sat dormant for over thirty years.

Cathy Payton, president and CEO of Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corporation, told Hair Balls that “the idea is for this to kind of serve as a gathering place and a destination point” for both residents of the Fifth Ward and those outside it.

The $6.8 million restoration projest will, she said, “reconnect the community with [its] proud history and culture through the arts.”

Although the city bought the building in December, the Fifth Ward CRC and Texas Southern University are partners in the theater’s new life, she said.